Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness

From time to time I come across what I call a forgotten hymn or a lost jewel.  Usually, it is one I have never heard of, and few or none of the people in my immediate life are familiar with.  Many such hymns have been pushed aside and, to our loss, lost from our church worship repertoire.   Located in the Trinity Hymnal on page 421, Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness, is one such lost jewel.  The text of this hymn, our April 7, 2013 anthem, was authored by 17th century poet and hymn writer, Johann Franck (1618-1677) with music composed by his friend, Johann Cruger (1598-1662). The website, hymnary.org lists 76 different hymn texts associated with Franck and 27 tunes associated with Cruger.  Only one other of Franck's text made it into our Trinity Hymnal, while 7 of Cruger's tunes made the 1990 cut.  The one other Franck text in our hymnal, #656, Jesus, Priceless Treasure, is another example of a  Franck-Cruger duo.

Johann Franck

Sources I have read indicate that while Frank was theologically sound, his poems tended to depart from a rigid objective text and often allowed his pen to paint emotive pictures of his subject matter, which made his hymn material unique in his day.  Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness is such a hymn.  He paints a beautiful picture of the marriage supper of the Lamb.  In his first verse the lawyer from Guben, Brandenburg, Germany encourages the reader to adorn himself with gladness and abandon the haunts of sadness.  "Come into the daylight's splendor," he calls to us.  Why? Because, the founder of this banquet has condescended to such as we are and desires to dwell among us.  The figurative language depicts a bride hastening to her groom, a marriage feast complete with bread and wine, and a day when we will be with our Lord in heavenly bliss forever.

Johann Cruger

Praxis pietalis melica, the most
influential Lutheran songbook
of the second half of the
17th century.

Cruger's tune, officially cataloged as Schmucke Dich varies from many of his other hymn tunes which tended to be simple and contemplative in style.  Apparently he thought Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness, needed to be much more celebrative.  With a Baroque flair the piece explodes sounding more like a piece of chamber music to be played on a harpsichord rather than a chorale to be sung in a cathedral.  Truly the artist and editor of Praxis pietalis melica, achieved the goal of bringing a tune of jubilation to a text that so beautifully paints a picture of the church reunited with the Lord in holy festivity forever.  This is a far cry from the tune Cruger is most well known for, Nun Danket, our Hymn#98, Now Thank We All Our God.

It is a shame that hymns of such richness in music, poetic beauty, and theological content can become lost jewels.  I don't have anything against new beautiful theologically rich hymns.  But I am concerned when  the big overhead screen, modern pop-worship flavor of the week ditties threaten to take the place of our worship heritage. 

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Sources:

hymnary.org

A History of Western Music, Donald Jay Grout, W. W. Norton & Co., 1980